Reversible pleated skirt



May 14, 1957 D. PRESSON 2,791,779

REVERSIBLE PLEATED SKIRT Filed May 1, 1956 2 Shets-Sheet 1 May 14, 1957 Filed May 1, 1956 D. PRESSON 2,791,779

REVERSIBLE PLEATED SKIRT 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 REVERSIBLE PLEATED SKIRT David Presson, Newton, Mass., assignor to Century Sportswear Co., Inc., Boston, Mass., a corporation of Massachusetts Application May 1, 1956, Serial No. 582,017

1 Claim. (Cl. 2-211) This invention pertains to wearing apparel and more especially to a reversible pleated skirt.

The advantages of a reversible garment, in general, are well recognized, in particular that such a garment may be of such different color or design at its opposite sides as, in effect, to furnish the wearer with two distinct garments for alternative use. However, difficulties have been experienced in making a pleated garment in such a manner that it might be worn with either side exposed, and thus reversible pleated skirts have not always been readily available to the purchaser.

To impart a distinctive and ornamental effect, or to reduce the amount of possible expansion at certain parts of the skirt, thus to insure a better fit, it has been common to close some or all of the pleats by stitching down their edges, for instance in a zone immediately below the waistband. However, some wearers prefer to have the pleats left open from waistband to hem.

A principal object of the present invention is to provide a reversible pleated skirt which is equally well finished at both sides and having knife pleats which extend from waistband to hem, and having the pleats at one side open from waistband to hem, while the pleats at the opposite side are closed for a fraction or all of their lengths. A further object is to provide a pleated skirt having open knife pleats at one side and closed knife pleats at the opposite side and wherein the seams which close the pleats at the latter side are normally concealed by the pleats at the opposite side. A further object is to provide a skirt having open pleats at one side, extending from waistband to hem, but which provides less expansion and a better fit than does the customary open pleated skirt. A further object is to provide a reversible leated skirt having a placket opening extending downwardly from the waistband, and with the parts so arranged that the placket is concealed by a pleat, regardless of the side of the skirt which is exposed during wear. Other and further objects and advantages of the invention will be pointed out in the following more detailed description, and by reference to the accompanying drawings wherein:

Fig. l is a more or less diagrammatic front elevation of a skirt according to the present invention, showing that side of the skirt at which the pleats are left open from waistband to hem, and having one pleat opened or folded back to show that it may be opened from waistband to hem, and also showin another pleat partially folded back to expose the normally concealed placket closure;

Fig. 2 is a view similar to Fig. l, but showing the opposite side of the skirt, wherein the pleats are closed at the upper part of the skirt, but open at the lower part of the skirt, some of the pleats in the lower part being opened, the seams which close the pleats immediately below the waistband being visible at this side of the skirt;

Fig. 3 is a diagrammatic section to larger scale on the line 3-3 of Fig. 1 showing the placket closure;

Fig. 4 is a diagrammatic section to larger scale on the 2,791,779 Patented May 14,

line 4--4 of Fig. 1, showing the longitudinal seam which closes the skirt at the side;

Fig. 5 is a diagrammatic section to larger scale on the line 5-5 of Fig. 2 but omitting the placket closure;

Fig. 6 is a fragmentary vertical section on the line 6-6 of Fig. 1, illustrating the hem at the bottom of the skirt; 7

Fig. 7 is a fragmentary longitudinal section on the line 7-7 of Fig. 1 showing the waistband construction;

Fig. 8 is a line diagram illustrating the manner in which the pleats are closed at one side of the skirt and having applied to it designating characters useful in describing and claiming the construction; and

Fig. 9 is a view similar to. Fig. 2 but to smaller scale, showing an arrangement in which the pleats at one side are closed in a transverse zone spaced from thewaistband.

A pleat or plait is broadly defined in the New Century Dictionary as A fold of definite even width made by doubling cloth or the like upon itself, and pressing, stitching or otherwise fastening it in place. v

Referring to the drawings, and particularly to Figs 1 and 2, the numeral 10 designates the waistband of the skirt and the numeral 11 the body portion-of the skirt, the skirt having the hem 12 at its lower edge. No attempt has been made, however, to show the color or. pattern of the material employed, but it will be understood that for optimum effects, the material will be of a different pattern and/or color at oppositefsides; Extending from the waistband 10 to the hem 12 are the longitudinally extending knife pleats 13 which, at the inner or rear side illustrated inFig. l, are open from the waistband to the hem. 1 One of these pleats is shown at 14 as having been turned back to show that its edge fold is free to separate from the underlying material throughout the length of the pleat. Another pleat 14. has been turned back for a short distance to expose the placket closure. 7

Referring to Fig. 2, which shows the other or outer side of the skirt, that is to 'say, the skirt of Fig. l as it would appear after having been turned insideout, the numeral 10 also indicates the waistbandand'the numeral 12 the hem, the knife pleats being indicated at 13. In this instance, the pleats are closed at the upper or hip portion of the skirt, that is to say, immediatelybelowthe waistband It for example, for a distance of six inches, by seams 15 which extend alongthe fold lines of the pleats and unite the edges of the pleats to the underlying material. Two of the pleats have been shown as turned back, as indicated at 16 and 17, to show that below the lower ends of the seams 15, that is to say, below the hip region the pleats are open and free to befolded back in the same way as the pleats at the opposite side. of the skirt. The waistband 10 is provided with button holes at its opposite ends and with buttons 23 and 24 at its opposite sides, so that the Waistband may be closed with the same facility whether the skirt be arranged as shown in Fig.1orinFig. 2.

Referring to Fig. 6, which is an enlarged sectionon the line 66 of Fig. l, the hem 12 is shown as being formed by turning up the lower margin of the skirt material and uniting it to the body portion of the skirt by a. seam at 18. In Fig. 7 the waistband 10 is shown as comprising a piece of material folded to provide the plies 25 and 26 which receive between their lower edges the upper portion of the pleated body of the skirt comprising the plies 27 and 28 which are united to the waistband by the seam29. V I j Referring to Fig. 3, the placket Opening w ich extends down from the waistband for a suitable distance is indi-. cated at 17 and the two lengths of tape M Whichsupport the separable fasteners 20 are shown as interposed between plies o'f-the skirt material and so arranged that pleats 21 and 22 of the skirt'at opposite sides of the latter normally conceal the separable fasteners.

While as illustrated in Fig. 2, the seams 15 extend down from the-waistband for a'suitable'distance, for example for six or seven inches, leaving the pleats below this point free to separate, it is contemplated that the pleats may be closed 'at other portions of the skirt by similar seams 15, for instance, as illustrated in Fig. 9, wherein the skirt 30 has open pleats in the upper and lower zones 31 and 32 respectively, while at the intermediate zone 33 the pleats are closed, for example, by seams such as the seams 15. It is also contemplated that the pleats may extend for greater or lesser distances lengthwise of the skirt as may be found desirable.

In Fig. 8, the arrangement of the pleats and the seams for closing some of the pleats is shown diagrammatically, the material of the skirt being shown by a single line. Thus, in this diagram, the character A designates a pleat at the front or outer side of the skirt, that is to say, thatside of the skirt which is illustrated in Fig. 2.

Herein for ease in description and referring to the diagrammatic section of Fig. 8, a single outer or front pleat A, for example, is considered to comprise that portion of the fabric which extends from the fold F to the fold F and from the fold F to the fold F2; while, a single rear or inner pleat, for example, pleat B is considered to comprise that portion of the fabric which extends from the fold F to the fold F2 and from the fold F2 to the fold F3. Obviously, that normally concealed portion of the material which extends from the fold F to the fold F2 is common to said front and rear pleats A and B. F indicates the exposed edge fold of another front pleat A3; and, F1 indicates the exposed edge fold of that rear or inner pleat B3 which is directly behind the pleat A3. Considering the front and rear pleats A and B3, it will be noted that the exposed portion P of the front pleat A and the exposed portion K3 of the rear pleat B3 are parts of an uninterrupted single ply web W3 of the material, and that this single ply of the material intervenes between the edge fold F5 of front pleat A3 and the edge fold P2 of the rear pleat B (which is next to the rear pleat B3), and that the exposed portion K of said inner or rear pleat B merges uninterruptedly with the exposed portion P1 of the next front pleat A1 to the right of front pleat A, forming the single ply web W. The exposed front or outer portion P1 of the pleat A1 is joined at the fold F3 with the concealed portion C2 of the rear pleat B2 which is next to the right of the pleat B. The concealed portion C2 of the pleat B2 is joined at the fold P4 with the exposed portion K2 of the next rear pleat B2 to the right of pleat B. It will be noted that each pleat, whether at one or the other side of the skirt, comprises an inner portion C, C2 or C3 which is normally concealed from view and which is common to front and rear pleats at opposite sides of the skirt.

It Will be noted by inspection of Fig. 8 that the fold F of the front pleat A (where its exposed portion P joins its concealed portion C) lies to the right of the fold F4 of the rear or inner pleat B2 (where the exposed portion K2 of the latter pleat joins its concealed portion C2). In other words, the fold F4 of the rear pleat B2 is laterally offset to the left of and overlaps the fold F of the front pleat A, However, between these overlapping folds F and F4, there is a single thickness or ply of the material (designated by the character W) which extends from the fold F2 to the fold F3.

The stitches of a longitudinally extending seam S pass through the exposed and concealed portions P and C of the front pleat A, just to the left of the fold F, and also through the single thickness of material designated by the character W. However, these stitches are not caught in the material'forming the concealed and exposed portions C2 and K2 of the overlapping rear or inner pleat B2.

The stitches forming the seam S are spaced slightly to the left of the fold F but sufficiently near to said fold so'that the seam is normally concealed from view at the rear or inner side of the skirt by the fold F4 of the pleat B2. A similar seam S3 passes through the plies P3 and C3 of the front pleat A3 and through that single thickness of the material (which is designated by the character W3) which extends from the fold F to the fold F1. A seam similar to the seams S and S3 secures the fold of each front pleat to the single thickness of material which in tervenes between said fold and the overlapping fold of a corresponding rear pleat. As respects all of these seams, while they are visible at the front side of the skirt (that is to say, the side shown in Fig. 2 of the drawings), the stitches forming these seams are not normally visible at the inner side of the skirt (if they are properly spaced from the fold lines F, F5, etc.). At the inner side, the pleats are free to open from Waistband to hem.

Fig. 3 is a section on the line 3-3 of Fig. l, and shows how the pleats 13 at the inner side of the skirt have edges or fold lines E which are not secured to the underlying material, so that they are free to be opened out like the pleat 14 shown in Fig. 1. Fig. 4 is a section on the line 4-4 of Fig. l, which shows the pleats 13 in the same way as they are shown in Fig. 3, but the pleats 13 at the opposite side of the skirt, at this portion of the skirt, are shown as also having the free edge folds E so that in this part of the skirt the pleats may be opened, regardless of that side of the skirt which is exposed.

Referring to Fig. 5, which is a section on the line 55 of Fig. 2, the front, closed pleats 13 are shown as having the edges or folds E secured by the exposed seams S to the underlying material. Thus, at this part of the skirt, the pleats at the front side are closed, although as above noted, the pleats on that side of the skirt which is shown in Fig. l are free to open from the waistband to the hem, nevertheless because of the seams S, this portion of the skirt is not expansible, and thus although having the essential visual appearance of a skirt having open pleats, nevertheless the skirt possesses the capability of good fit, which is characteristic of one in which the pleats are closed.

While a desirable embodiment of the invention has herein been illustrated and described by way of example, it is to be understood that the invention is broadly inclusive of any and all modifications falling Within the scope of the appended claim.

I claim:

A reversible pleated skirt of the kind wherein the pleating of the skirt apear differently at its opposite sides, the skirt being so finished that it may be worn with either side exposed, and having a waistband provided with fastener elements and a placket and placket closure, the material of the skirt, from the waistband to the hem, being arranged to form knife pleats throughout the major portion, at least, of its circumference, the edge folds of all of the pleats at the outer or front side of the skirt facing in the same direction circumferentially of the skirt, and the edge folds of all of the pleats at the inner or rear side of the skirt facing in the oposite direction circumferentially of the skirt, each pleat comprising a concealed portion and an exposed portion, said portions of each pleat joining at a corresponding longitudinally extending edge fold, the edge fold of any inner or rear pleat being offset laterally from the edge fold of an outer or front pleat so that the edge folds of said pleats overlap, there being a single ply of the skirt material intervening bet-ween the edge folds of said overlapping pleats, characterized in lapping pleats, said seam being spaced from the edge fold of the front pleat but being so close to said edge fold that its stitches are concealed by said edge fold of the overlapping rear pleat, said seams being the only longitudinal seams for closing the pleats whereby the edge folds of all 6 of the inner pleats are free to be opened at the inner side of the skirt, thus imparting to the inner side of the skirt the appearance of having open pleats from the waist band to the hem although at the hip portion of the skirt, the expansion of the skirt girthwise is limited by the 10 aforesaid seams.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 

